A Synopsis Of The Movie 'Selma'

Even after the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans were “disenfranchised in the South by intimidation and electoral trickery, including whites-only primaries, rigged literacy tests, and poll taxes” (Patterson 2011, p. 180). The Freedom Riders rode through the South, enduring harassment and imprisonment to encourage other African Americans to vote. Voter turnout in African American communities is greatly encouraged. Personally, coming from an African American family, I was strongly encouraged by my parents and grandparents to vote when I was of legal age. My family instilled the importance of voting in me at a very young age. Although voter turnout among African Americans is still fairly low, in the 2008 presidential election African Americans had the second highest voter turnout, behind non-Hispanic Caucasians (African Americans, n.d.). Race can influence voter turnout because with African Americans specifically, although rates are getting better, they are still not high.

If you asked the average American about the Civil Rights movement, you would definitely hear about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. If you talked to someone with a better memory of history class they may tell you about Malcolm X. The movie Selma released on Christmas day of 2014 covers the Civil Rights movement and is praised for being a compelling movie and a historically accurate one. Selma is a historically accurate movie because it brought in other civil rights leaders, the facts that it got wrong were deliberately purpose, and it showed his relationship with Lyndon B Johnson.

Soon after passage of the Voting Rights Act, federal examiners were conducting voter registration, and black voter registration began a sharp increase. The cumulative effect of the Supreme Court’s decisions, Congress’ enactment of voting rights legislation, and the ongoing efforts of concerned private citizens and the Department of Justice, has been to restore the right to vote guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The Voting Rights Act itself has been called the single most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever passed by

The emancipation proclamation was what seemed like the beginning of freedom for African Americans. African Americans fought hard and valiantly in the American Civil war and with the Unions win freedom and peace for blacks seemed to be assured. As most people would quote," Freedom isn 't free." It almost always has a cost. Africans Americans since the origin of this country have literally laid down their lives for the cost of freedom and opportunity in the US. One of the most coveted freedom 's both past and present is the right to suffrage. My paper discusses the many factors leading to and the trials and tribulations involving black 's right to vote. In this paper, I will discuss the constitutional amendments as well as the landmark supreme court cases that affected both the lives and voting rights of African Americans during the time period of 1865 through 1900.

Once African American’s were given the right to vote the infamous literacy tests became a prerequisite to vote in southern states. This was a nuisance to the African Americans because they were in place to put a barrier between African Americans and voting, these test were impossible for most African Americans. Another part of the voting process that became difficult and complicated for African Americans was the Application itself. The application differed from state to state but in order to fill it out completely the person would have to include personal information about themselves. Comparing the application to modern applications shows the intentions of the officials and how “important” the questions were.

“I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Alabama for the right to vote. I’m not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us [African Americans]” –John Lewis. Within 100 years, African Americans overcame many obstacles such as paying poll taxes, passing multiple tests, and violence to be able to vote. They had to pay taxes, such as poll taxes. They also had to pass multiple tests, such as the Property and Literacy tests. Violence was also an obstacle African Americans had to face in order to vote.

In today's world, many small changes have been made in regard to racism. In the movie To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee presented the changes made in the way black people were viewed. In the movie Selma, Director Ava Duvernay revealed the struggle many had to endure in order to achieve the right to vote. Despite the success of these small problems, racism is still a big problem in today’s society. As revealed in To Kill A Mockingbird and Selma, even though small changes have occured, big change and a potential solution to the problem has still yet to happen in today’s world.

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month, Blacks have made huge strides although coming from a past of inequality. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing Selma because I knew what it represented. I feared to cry and get emotional over the hardships of post-slavery and the battles of the Civil Rights Movement. I knew it was going to be gruesome to watch because of its vivid depiction of how our nation used to be and a touch of reality of how it continues to become.

No matter where in the world or what period in time, there is always someone being oppressed or experiencing some form of maltreatment or discrimination. Throughout history, people have been judged or had their basic human rights infringed upon. That is why movies like Selma are so important because they shine a light on these events and transgressions, that need to be brought to people’s attention. The movie Selma was a real eye-opener in terms of the events that took place during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. It presented many of its arguments in ways no adaptation of the story had successfully done before. Many of the actor portrayals of historical figures were so veracious it was as if the figures themselves were carrying out the plot of the movie. The overlying themes of the movie were also very apparent and easy to, if not to relate to, at least understand and empathize where the characters were coming from in a sense. Not only the dialogue, or strictly what you see being depicted on screen alone make the movie so gripping and emotionally poignant, things such as the music, or how the movie is put together and laid out to affect the emotions of the viewers.

The Voting Rights Act 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 et seq., decision is important regarding the laws governing voting rights and their relationship to minority voters. Its implication and effects however does not end within the legal realms and dimensions but continues through to society, culture, and human rights. The Voting Rights Act initially established in 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration protected “racial minorities” from biased voting practices. It was a huge stride in the civil rights movement and a victory over harmful, archaic, and biased voting practices and traditions.

The film Selma, is set in the 1960’s right after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The film follows civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. as he peacefully fights for the right to vote for blacks. The fight for equal rights was a long and hard process, endangering African Americans physically and emotionally. The event depicted in the film was the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s primarily led by civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr.

In the movie Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay showcases a lot of social injustice during the 1960 's. The portion of the film that I focused on in Selma was the migration scene, which is about seventy minutes into the movie. Within the migration scene from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, several cinematic devices play a pivotal role in understanding why white supremacist attacked black people during the 1960 's. The scene showcases a group of African Americans that band together from the city of Selma and wants to march in a peaceful manner to Montgomery, Alabama. However, their movement was halted when police block the town 's bridge. The townspeople decide not to back down and want to continue their migration; however, the police argue that if they do not return home, the cops will assault them. This leads to the simple assault of African Americans by white supremacist American cops, which was documented by an undercover news reporter. The scene cuts back and forth between the rioting between the blacks and police and shouting and yelling of Caucasian supremacist bystanders that proudly showcase their Confederate flag and racial slurs. During the whole debacle, the song "Walk with Us" by Martha Bass is played and has considerable importance for African Americans at this time. This scene shows that there is a long-standing racism against African Americans from white supremacist Southerners and only became more riled up with the equal rights movement in the 1960 's. Ava

Equality and Justice - false promises a nation was created to protect. The historical drama, Selma (2014), directed by Ava DuVernay, depicts some of the struggles African-Americans faced in the pursuit of equality and justice during the mid 1950’s to 1960’s, and the role Martin Luther King Jr. played in his attempt to overcome such inequalities. Even before its release, Selma received backlash from critics who claimed it falsely depicted Lyndon B. Johnson at odds with Martin Luther King Jr, and alleged that the murder of the four girls at the Birmingham Church occurred in September 1963, rather than at the end of 1964, which the film suggests. Regardless of such claims, the film, Selma, does depict a historical event set forth by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965. During this time period, racial segregation was prominent, especially in the southern states. The government justified such segregation based on the 14th Amendment’s wording of “separate but equal”. However, many African-Americans were dissatisfied and demanded true equality. It was not until the mid 1960’s, after Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, that racial tension began to decline. Although Martin Luther King Jr.’s role was invaluable in the Civil Rights Movement and required great courage, Selma aims to portray a complex side of King, mixing his bravery and determination with self-doubts and internal conflicts in his pursuit of justice and equality.

Selma is based on a true story that happened in 1965 in Selma, Alabama. Selma was the city that ended suffrage for African Americans because of Rev Martin Luther king and the help from his Christian family. The movie has some intense violence and a lot of foul language, but overall is mainly about Christian and moral content. Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 desegregated in certain areas. It made it more difficult for black to register to vote. In 1964 Rev Martin Luther king receives a Noble Pace Prize. The Civil Rights Act was outlaw segregation in all 50 states, but African Americans where still having trouble at that time. Martin decides voting should be there next fight. So, they march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

It isn’t uncommon for historical events to be made into movies. It also isn’t completely unheard of for the events in a movie to be misrepresented either. On 7 January 2015, “Selma” director Ava DuVernay tweeted “I think everyone sees history through their own lens. This is what I see. That should be valid. I’m not going to argue history,” in response to the controversy surrounding the movie. The movie “Selma”, however, is historically accurate because President Johnson’s priority in 1965 was anti-poverty as shown in the movie, and it accurately depicts what it was like for African Americans for votes.